Mollie Tibbetts case: Suspect Cristhian Rivera changes lawyers

Cristhian Rivera made his initial court appearance after being charged with murder in the death of missing Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts.
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Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, is lead from the courtroom after making his initial appearance on a charge of first-degree murder during at the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, Iowa, on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. Rivera is accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts.(Photo11: Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette/Pool)

Cristhian Rivera, the man accused of first-degree murder in the death of Mollie Tibbetts, has changed lawyers.

Court documents filed Sunday and Monday show Rivera consented to the withdrawal of his attorney, Allan Richards of Tama, and the rescindment of several motions Richards had filed.

He will be represented instead by Chad Frese and Jennifer Frese, of the Marshalltown firms Kaplan and Frese LLP and Johnson, Bonzer and Barnaby PLC, documents show. They are married and work out of the same building in Marshalltown, although for different firms, Jennifer Frese said.

"The family reached out (to) us and we met with them first and then we met with Mr. Rivera on Friday evening and he decided to move forward with the change of counsel," she said.

The documents do not list a reason for Richards' withdrawal as counsel. Frese said she did not ask for a reason. Richards could not immediately be reached for comment.

Jennifer Frese said she and her husband have not worked a case like this together, but they decided it would be good to have two attorneys defending Rivera because it's a high-profile case.

Frese said she and her husband have been privately retained by Rivera's family.

Rivera, through his new attorneys, has withdrawn all pending motions filed by Richards and waived Rivera's right to a preliminary hearing. That means Rivera will not appear in court on Friday as previously scheduled.

Richards had filed motions to bar media from all court proceedings in the case and for a gag order prohibiting participants from discussing it.

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Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death. Here he is brought into the Poweshiek County Courthouse on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death. Here he is brought into the Poweshiek County Courthouse on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death. Here he is brought into the Poweshiek County Courthouse on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death. Here he is brought into the Poweshiek County Courthouse on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death. Here he is brought into the Poweshiek County Courthouse on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death. Here he is brought into the Poweshiek County Courthouse on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death. Here he is brought into the Poweshiek County Courthouse on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, is lead from the courtroom after making his initial appearance on a charge of first-degree murder during at the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, Iowa, on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. Rivera is accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette/Pool

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, looks to his attorney Allan Richards as he makes his initial appearance on a charge of first-degree murder during at the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, Iowa, on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. Rivera is accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette/Pool

Defense attorney Allan Richards argues to exclude expanded media coverage from the initial appearance of Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, before magistrate Diane Crooklyn-Johnson in the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, Iowa, on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. Rivera is charged with first-degree murder in the death of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette/Pool

Magistrate judge Diane Crooklyn-Johnson presides over the initial appearance of Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, on a charge of first-degree murder during at the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, Iowa, on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. Rivera is accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette/Pool

Defense attorney Allan Richards gesturers towards the jury box and the assembled media as he argues to exclude expanded media coverage from the initial appearance of Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, before magistrate Diane Crooklyn-Johnson in the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, Iowa, on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. Rivera is charged with first-degree murder in the death of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette/Pool

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, responds to a question from magistrate judge Diane Crooklyn-Johnson as he makes his initial appearance on a charge of first-degree murder during at the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, Iowa, on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. Rivera is accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette/Pool

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, leaves the Poweshiek County Courthouse after was being charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, is put in a Sheriff's truck outside the Poweshiek County Courthouse after was being charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, is driven away from the Poweshiek County Courthouse after was being charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

esus Gamboa, a friend of Mollie Tibbetts speaks to members of the media outside the Poweshiek County Courthouse after Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, was charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma.
Brian Powers/The Register

"It’s not something Chad and I would have requested if we were on the case initially, so that’s the reason we’re withdrawing it," Frese said. She declined to give further details about their legal strategy.

The day Tibbetts was found, and three days before speaking with Rivera about the possibility of representing him in court, Chad Frese wrote a public Facebook post about the case. In it, he criticized the media attention and online narrative surrounding Wayne Cheney, a Poweshiek County hog farmer who had been questioned by investigators and whose property had been searched while Tibbetts was missing.

"We all knew who did it, right? It was the hog farmer who had been interviewed a number of times, taken a polygraph and had his property searched. He had stalking convictions. The digital footprint put it all together.

"Nope..................," Frese wrote in the post.

Frese wrote that people's minds seemed to be made up about the case before any arrests were announced.

"But wait.... an illegal alien snatched her up and committed this heinous act? He admitted to it? He took the cops to the body? How can that be?

"They had the killer in custody. It wasn’t Wayne Cheney. We were all wrong," Chad Frese wrote in the post.

In an interview Monday, Frese said he wasn't giving his own opinion of the case, but saying that anyone accused of a crime "is deserving of a full and fair defense" as provided in the Sixth Amendment.

"I wasn't saying I thought he was the killer," Chad Frese said.

"I was just parroting the media narrative. I was just parroting what we were being fed at that point in time. Nowhere in that post do I spout my opinion as to what this gentleman had done or didn’t do," he added.

He said he didn't believe the post would prevent him from defending Rivera in court. He said he has not come to a conclusion about whether or not Rivera is guilty.

"The point of the post is that no one should rush to judgment in any situation like this and that it was a point about the Sixth Amendment — that individuals have the right to counsel and that anyone could find themselves in the crosshairs of being accused," Chad Frese said.

The post, which was published at 10:44 p.m. Aug. 21, was available to anyone on Facebook as of Monday afternoon and had 448 shares, 684 reactions and 92 comments.

Chad Frese said he has practiced criminal law for nearly 25 years and primarily does criminal defense work. He said Jennifer Frese has been a criminal defense lawyer for close to 10 years. Each has experience as prosecutors, he said.

Rivera, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of the 20-year-old University of Iowa student who was missing for over a month. Authorities say he led them to Tibbetts' body Aug. 21 after being interviewed the night prior.

If convicted, Rivera faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is being held at the Poweshiek County Jail on a $5 million cash-only bond. No date has been set for his next court appearance.

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Cristhian Bahena Rivera arrives at the Poweshiek County Courthouse for his first appearance after being charged with the murder of Mollie Tibbetts.
Rodney White, rodwhite@dmreg.com